Well-oiled Alcoa Farmlands operation

The Wagerup property consists of more than 5500 hectares and has been running for more than 35 years, while the Pinjarra property is made up of more than 5350ha and has been worked for more than 45 years.

Alcoa Farmlands is run by farmlands manager Vaughn Byrd along with his team including farm co-ordinators Steve Dwyer, Richard Gardiner, Doug Gibbs and two office administrators Linda and Celeste.

The operation's herd consists of 3700 breeders mated in 2019 and is predominantly Angus, with some Murray Greys.

Black Simmentals have also been added to the herd in recent years to add some hybrid vigour and ultimately more weight.

"We've been increasing the number of Black Simmentals slowly and currently we have been mating approximately 400-500 head," Mr Byrd said.

When marketing and selling its cattle, Alcoa Farmlands sends its store cattle straight to the saleyards, having moved away from AuctionsPlus to give smaller producers more of an opportunity in the current market conditions.

"We've gone back to the yards because online sales tend to sell large lines of cattle and that can sometimes cut out the producer trying to source smaller lines," Mr Byrd said.

In addition to store cattle, the operation turns off 400-600 trade steers annually, which go directly to processors, with cull bulls and cows being marketed through local processors also.

The Black Simmentals are used as terminal sires, with some being grown out to 18 months of age to go to the local processors and the remainder are sent to the store market.

"The benefit of the Black Simmentals is that we receive a premium of more than $80-$100 for them," Mr Byrd said.

Selecting good bulls is an essential part of maintaining a sustainable herd with Mr Byrd and his team being particular with the traits they look for.

"The bulls must be structurally sound, have good birthweights, good 200 and 400-weights, good eye muscle area (EMA) and intramuscular fat (IMF)," he said.

Mr Byrd said a trait that would become more important is retail beef yield as this was key to processor profit margins.

When sourcing bulls Alcoa Farmlands uses a number of different studs.

"For the Angus bulls we predominantly source them from Koojan Hills, but we like to support locals so we get some from Winavon stud, Little Meadows, Gandy, and we've had some from Blackrock in the past," he said.

"Our Murray Greys come from Melaleuca and the Black Simmentals come from Bonnydale.

"A transition to all black began a couple of years ago and is progressing well."

In past seasons, like many other producers, Alcoa Farmlands has experienced some challenging conditions.

"It has been very dry, we were down on average probably 150-200mm in rainfall," Mr Byrd said.

As a result of the lack of rainfall, the length of the season was severely shortened.

"The rain started three to four weeks late and then dropped off three to four weeks early, so that's an extra two months of conserved fodder that you have to have," Mr Byrd said.

When it comes to feed, all of the arable land between the two properties is used for pasture and silage crops.

"At Wagerup, we graze more than 4900ha and at Pinjarra 3250ha."

Alcoa Farmlands maintains conserved fodder by cutting 5000 rolls of hay and 450-500 rolls of silage annually.

Soil testing has helped to improve pasture growth over the past few years.

"It has made a big difference in ensuring soil health is achieved and that the correct treatments can be applied," Mr Byrd said.

To boost the soil and encourage pasture growth Alcoa Farmlands annually applies approximately 800-900 tonnes of lime, greater than 8t of pasture seed and 350t of fertiliser annually.

As for the calendar of operations, joining occurs in July, with calving beginning in April/May for weaning in December.

Having calving at this time is a result of having irrigated land which means there is green feed right throughout the year.

"We wean straight onto green feed, which allows us to sell straight into either the feeder or the store market after everyone else has finished," Mr Byrd said.

At the Wagerup property, 250ha is irrigated, with 110ha of it under centre pivot and the balance being flood.

When it comes to calving Mr Byrd and his team run a tight operation.

The heifers are joined for a six-week cycle and the cows for nine weeks.

"If you can get them on a rising plane when you mate then you'll have a far greater conception percentage," Mr Byrd said.

As for culling, productivity is key for the operation with only the best cattle being kept.

"Temperament is the number one thing we cull for, but also structural soundness, age and you have to make sure that what you're retaining is performing," he said.

"You don't want cows that are too big, they are just grass burners and you don't want cows that are too small because they won't deliver the returns required."

With prices soaring to industry highs, Alcoa Farmlands has reaped the benefits.

"We sold 160 head of cattle at Boyanup a couple of weeks ago for an average of $1401.36 a head," Mr Byrd said.

"This season we have sold cattle earlier due to pricing, which has then relieved the conserved fodder requirements.

"The benefits of the higher prices is that it gives producers the chance to reinvest and improve their operation."

Reinvesting in its cattle enterprise is especially pertinent for the operation, as the farm is still recovering from a fire in 2016 that ravaged its Wagerup property, destroying more than 400km of fencing.

But, with the prices where they are it has allowed Alcoa Farmlands to continue restoring its fences.

After the fire, in what was a difficult time, the operation was supported by the industry and locals, with people buying its cattle and helping out where they could, an act Mr Byrd said would not be forgotten.

Despite the current price highs, he is not getting ahead of himself.

"There's no doubt we are on the crest of a wave at the moment, but it will soften and drop back to where it was 12 months ago," he said.